France v Italy: Prediction, Tips and Odds

France and Italy begin their 2024/25 Nations League campaign on Friday night when they clash in Group A2 at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Les Bleus lifted this trophy in 2021, beating Spain 2-1 in the final, while Gli Azzurri have finished third in the last two editions of the tournament.

France v Italy betting tips and predictions

Italy double chance - 6/5

It is six years since France lifted the World Cup in Russia and although they have enjoyed deep runs in the tournaments that have followed, further major silverware has eluded them.

Les Bleus were runners-up in Qatar in 2022, losing out to Argentina in the final, while they have been knocked out at the last-16 stage and semi-finals of the last two European Championships.

A Nations League triumph came in 2021, but they were abject in the last edition as they won just one of their six matches to finish third in Group A1, surviving relegation to League B by just one point.

Head coach Didier Deschamps still has a talented squad to choose from, especially in attack with Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani, Bradley Barcola and Marcus Thuram among a range of options, but they are not as strong in midfield and are lacking a creative spark.

More responsibility will be placed upon the shoulders of captain Mbappe, who has been spearheading the side for several years now, and that overreliance on the skipper could hurt the two-time world champions.

Opponents Italy have been no great shakes themselves recently and their European Championship defence this summer ended in a last-16 exit at the hands of Switzerland.

But Luciano Spalletti has a talented, youthful squad at his disposal and he will be hoping to eke out further improvement from his players during this Nations League campaign.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo is the only player aged over 30 in this Italy squad, while just four players are over 26 and there is an exciting feel about the current crop.

Whether they have enough to get the better of France is another question, but they certainly have the talent to be competitive in this contest and the safer play is to back Italy to win or draw in the double chance market.

Under 2.5 goals - 17/20

Despite all of the attacking talent set to descend upon the Parc des Princes, this game could boil down to who has the strongest defence and a low-scoring encounter may be on the cards.

France scored just three goals in their opening five games at the Euros in Germany, and none of those matches saw more than two goals scored, but they were strong at the back with four clean sheets recorded during that period.

The only fixture to go over the 2.5 mark was the semi-final defeat to Spain, which ended in a 2-1 triumph for the eventual champions, but those performances this summer proved how solid Les Bleus are at the back.

Italy's recent fixtures have also ended up being tight affairs, with six of their last seven assignments producing fewer than three goals and it would be no surprises if defences were on top in Paris.

Mateo Retegui to have over 1.5 shots on target - 5/1

One of Italy's rising stars is Atalanta forward Mateo Retegui and the 5/1 available for him to have at least two shots on target is hard to ignore.

The 25-year-old has scored four goals from 12 international appearances and he has started the domestic season in fine fashion, netting three times in as many outings.

Retegui has had 10 attempts in total across three Serie A matches this term and he can fire a couple of efforts on target on Friday.

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France v Italy odds

France - 13/20
Draw - 3/1
Italy - 4/1

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.